Consciously practice an act of forgiveness.
It’s true: you’ll be happier if you practice forgiveness. Holding a grudge is not a happiness habit — resentment keeps negative emotions like anger and frustration front and center in our lives. When we forgive others, we do it to make ourselves feel better.
Take Action: Today, zero in on someone has been aggravating you lately and consciously try to practice forgiveness toward them. Take some deep breaths while you silently wish them well in your mind. Clear your heart so that it isn’t fertile ground for the negative emotions that come with holding a grudge. (For tips about how to forgive, and to teach forgiveness to your children, see this post or this one).
Join the Discussion: Did it work? Share in the comments below.
Forgiving family members is essential if you want support of any kind. We all make mistakes, particularity when we join a new family or a new member enters the family. After all ,each family has a different culture with different customs and expectations. Ruth Nemzoff, Ed.D.,Author and Speaker: Don’t Bite Your Tongue: How
to Foster Rewarding Relationships with Your Adult Children
(Palgrave/Macmillan, 2008)
Don’t Roll Your Eyes: Making In-Laws Into Family (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2012)
Thank you for this reminder. I needed to see it today. I’m having a hard time forgiving another parent who said some very unkind things about one of my children this spring and now seems to be passively taking out her angry on my other child. It’s complicated and as much as I try to move toward forgiveness, I keep hoping she can find a way to do the same. Otherwise I am concerned that sadly, relations with remain strained. How do we forgive someone and heal the relationship?
The posts I link to above may give you some more tips, or any of Fred Luskin’s books. Remember: while you can always forgive, you may decide NOT to heal the relationship. Forgiveness does not mean putting yourself back in the line of fire.